@maxwave we agree on room correction, which in my case is not a requirement. Room correction is not a cure all, at best you gain at a loss elsewhere. As I stated this was not meant to be a run of the mill unit, it is designed for professional HT installation and any competent installer would/should make the environment audio friendly. It took me a long time to get to this point. I can take any component and rearrange furniture etc and with minor changes in placement attain the SQ I so desire. My environment has been treated extensively as I needed it. It was far from perfect. I do not have easy access to a dealer either. We can hope that the future addition of room correction will be of minor expense to current owners. In either case the Act4 is a superb piece for audio and video reproduction. Aero 3D as far as I am aware is not yet a proven or readily available format and may be a flop. I'm sorry you cannot yet appreciate the sonic benefits of the Act4 in your environment. Have you thought of room treatment? I'm sure the growing pains of the Act4 will be resolved. New items always have unforseen glitches. As long as indyaudiolabs listens to us and resolves the issues we are part of the development team. Unfortunately unpaid. Come on by and pay a visit and hear for yourself if you're in the neighborhood.
Follow up review of Acurus Act4 processor
This review is my final impression of the Acurus Act4 Home Theater processor version 1. Version 1 supports 16 channels vs version 2 which supports 20 channels. Version 1 can be upgraded to V2. This system is in a 5.1 configuration and unlikely to change. (I am aware that the full potential of this processor is not realized). Refer to the manufacturer for details. I will not get too detailed in order to keep this short but informative.
In use daily for past 30 days approx. 4 hrs average per day for visual and audio enjoyment. Mostly audio both surround and 2 channel unprocessed stereo.
Supporting cast are B&W speakers, Oppo, Hitachi, JL, PS4, VPI and Emotiva (a strong weak link)
1. VISUAL:
Superb picture rendition in all formats including 4k, clear, crisp with no artifacts. Not much more to say.
2. AUDIO:
This is where the Act4 really comes into its own. Please refer to my earlier post of initial impression. The Act4 has hands down the absolute best audio performance I have ever experienced over my span of 50 years enjoying audio performances, live and studio in all formats. Much exellent equipment has come and gone over the years. This unit puts itself into a class by itself.
A very involving sound where time flies by and you look and say to yourself Holy Crap I got to go to bed it's really late or work in a few hours.
Without gushing and being overly enthusiastic about a product all I will say is that I highly recommend any one in the market for a HT processor to audition the Act4 if possible before making a choice. Nuff said
3. PROs;
Audio and video performance, Customer support, supports all the latest formats, superb connectability.
4. CONs:
No ARC, (upgrade to include ARC in work, possibly available by end of year), NOT all menu items are accessible using the remote functions even with network (Only audio related menu is available) this is done on purpose per indyaudiolabs. And I get it, but still? NO on fly adjustment via remote control, NO OSD (on screen menu) again on purpose per indyaudio, Firmware upgrade is somewhat cumbersome but again understandable after communication with indyaudiolabs. Does NOT support legacy video connections (component/composite)
Has some growing pains that are adressed via firmware upgrades. Latest for my V1 is V1.750
NOTE:
This unit was designed from the beginning to be installed by professional Home Theater designers/installers who are trained in all the intricate functions,upgrades and setup of the Act4 in high end installations, so it limits it's exposure to the general market IMO. A toy for the rich and famous.
Well I'm neither rich nor famous, just a retired gray collar worker who wants to enjoy the best audio performance from his system before he meets his maker. I purchased this un-auditioned, sight unseen with only limited available research. Bottom line I took a risk. I'm also glad I did. It is state of the art equipment.
I hope this helps those that are considering a major improvement. It's not cheap but life is too short to drink cheap Tequila.
If you enjoy music at its best you owe it to yourself to audition the Acurus Act4 even if video is not your thing. It's the audio performance I was after.
Happy listening!
In use daily for past 30 days approx. 4 hrs average per day for visual and audio enjoyment. Mostly audio both surround and 2 channel unprocessed stereo.
Supporting cast are B&W speakers, Oppo, Hitachi, JL, PS4, VPI and Emotiva (a strong weak link)
1. VISUAL:
Superb picture rendition in all formats including 4k, clear, crisp with no artifacts. Not much more to say.
2. AUDIO:
This is where the Act4 really comes into its own. Please refer to my earlier post of initial impression. The Act4 has hands down the absolute best audio performance I have ever experienced over my span of 50 years enjoying audio performances, live and studio in all formats. Much exellent equipment has come and gone over the years. This unit puts itself into a class by itself.
A very involving sound where time flies by and you look and say to yourself Holy Crap I got to go to bed it's really late or work in a few hours.
Without gushing and being overly enthusiastic about a product all I will say is that I highly recommend any one in the market for a HT processor to audition the Act4 if possible before making a choice. Nuff said
3. PROs;
Audio and video performance, Customer support, supports all the latest formats, superb connectability.
4. CONs:
No ARC, (upgrade to include ARC in work, possibly available by end of year), NOT all menu items are accessible using the remote functions even with network (Only audio related menu is available) this is done on purpose per indyaudiolabs. And I get it, but still? NO on fly adjustment via remote control, NO OSD (on screen menu) again on purpose per indyaudio, Firmware upgrade is somewhat cumbersome but again understandable after communication with indyaudiolabs. Does NOT support legacy video connections (component/composite)
Has some growing pains that are adressed via firmware upgrades. Latest for my V1 is V1.750
NOTE:
This unit was designed from the beginning to be installed by professional Home Theater designers/installers who are trained in all the intricate functions,upgrades and setup of the Act4 in high end installations, so it limits it's exposure to the general market IMO. A toy for the rich and famous.
Well I'm neither rich nor famous, just a retired gray collar worker who wants to enjoy the best audio performance from his system before he meets his maker. I purchased this un-auditioned, sight unseen with only limited available research. Bottom line I took a risk. I'm also glad I did. It is state of the art equipment.
I hope this helps those that are considering a major improvement. It's not cheap but life is too short to drink cheap Tequila.
If you enjoy music at its best you owe it to yourself to audition the Acurus Act4 even if video is not your thing. It's the audio performance I was after.
Happy listening!
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